Dutch producer Lodewijk Fluttert, known by his stage name Bakermat, is on course for his first UK Top 40 hit with One Day. The track was a huge hit across Europe last year and is now breaking out of house music circles and entering the big leagues! The song samples Martin Luther King’s most famous speech “I Have a Dream”.
The song was originally released as ‘Vandaag’ in August 2012 as a single and reached the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. It was then rereleased by Sony this year as ‘One Day (Vandaag)’ and immediately became a hit in Germany and Austria and now – it’s edging up the UK charts, currently sitting at Nº12.
Bakermats masterful use of the saxophone melody, overlaid with samples of the speech gives the track an almost ethereal feel. We interviewed Bakermat in November last year and spoke to him about the use of this famous speech: «I think it’s the best speech ever written and narrated. The speech is music itself. I thought it would be nice to ‘remix’ it and so, I started the track “Vandaag” from scratch, with only the speech to draw inspiration from. I made the chords and built stuff up around it. Martin Luther King remains one of the best speechmakers ever.”
YouTube have revealed their list of the most played music videos of 2014 (so far) and Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ is the clear winner – by a sweet 100 million views! Sitting pretty in second place are the sexy twosome – Shakira and Rihanna with their over-the-top video for “Can’t Remember to Forget You”. Shakira appears twice in the list as does Latin heart throb Enrique Iglesias.
1-Katy Perry, ‘Dark Horse’ ft Juicy J (494,834,900 views)
Katy Perry’s Dark Horse music video is the clear favourite to be the year’s top clip, with almost half a billion views since February! The clip sees Perry as an Egyptian queen with supernatural powers. The video has sparked quite a bit of controversy though among the Muslim community as Perry uses her powers to disintegrate a man wearing a pendant with the word Allah on it. «Blasphemy is clearly conveyed in the video, since Katy Perry (who appears to be representing an opposition of God) engulfs the believer and the word God in flames,» wrote Shazad Iqbal in an online petition to have the video banned. Many similar petitions submitted to the website change.org have been met with counter-calls from YouTube to keep the video online in the name of “free expression”.
2-Shakira, ‘Can’t Remember to Forget You’ ft Rihanna (358,925,042 views)
Shakira and Rihanna’s sexy video is only 100 million views behind at 360 million views. This video also caused quite a scandal for showing the two girls writhing around together on a bed and smoking cigars. A columbian politician released a statement saying that the video should be banned for promoting tobacco and lesbianism, the New York Daily News website reported.
3-Shakira, ‘La La La (Brazil 2014)’ ft. Carlinhos Brown (264,211,400 views)
This video ranked high on this top 10 for three reasons: 1) It was one of the official World Cup songs, 2) It’s Shakira (she now has 101 million fans on Facebook) and 3) It’s a great video clip, the best of the World Cup ones, and you even get to see Shakira’s football skills!
4- ‘We Are One (Ole Ola)’ [The Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Song] (Olodum Mix) (218,498,700 views)
Another World Cup song by Pitbull feat. Jennifer Lopez & Claudia Leitte – this powerhouse trio is enough to rank up some hefty views, even without the influence of the World Cup. The song received positive reviews from critics, but also some negative reactions from Brazilians due to its lack of Brazilian ‘feeling’. To remedy that, another version was created and the music changed slightly to fit Afro Brazilian group Olodum’s style of drumming. It didn’t do that well commercially but did reach the top-twenty in a few countries including Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, France and the World Cup’s host country Brazil.
5-Enrique Iglesias, ‘Bailando’ (Español) ft Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona (230,758,500 views)
This song is the Sound of Summer 2014 – at the top of numerous Latin charts it’s heard everyday on the radio. For a song that is mostly in Spanish, it’s interesting how it has become such a big pop hit. Perhaps Enrique is just the ultimate ambassador of the cool and smooth vibe. Or perhaps it’s because the song is so damn happy and feel-good that it cuts through all the clutter and sets your hips swaying…? Enrique himself told Billboard’s executive director of Latin content and programming, Leila Cobo, «Of all the songs I’ve written in Spanish, there’s something about this song, the more I listen to it, the more I seem to like it. There’s something addictive about this song.»
6-The Chainsmokers, ‘#SELFIE’ (187,011,580 views)
This video and song perfectly captures our cultural obsession with selfies. It might soon be relegated to a pop culture footnote but for now it shows no signs of dwindling. The Chainsmokers are Drew Taggart and Alex Pall and they recorded a demo of the track and uploaded it to Soundcloud and Instagram. It went viral and was picked up by Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records. Ok, so it was helped by TheAudience – a marketing firm that specialises in social media, but nonetheless no one can deny that it became a ‘viral sensation’.
7-Iggy Azalea, ‘Fancy’ ft Charli XCX (187,050,600 views)
This song has spent the majority of the summer to date at Nº1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the song of the summer. From Memorial Day to Independence day Fancy was downloaded 1.3 million times – that’s a record for a six week period. According to Billboard, since Memorial Day “Fancy” has a cumulative audience of 1.03 billion “listener impressions”. Fancy that.
8-Frozen Soundtrack, ‘Let It Go’ (291,127,574 views)
The worldwide phenomenon that is the Frozen soundtrack – many have been surprised at the incredible success of this soundtrack. «When a musical grosses a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and features an inspirational album, why should we be surprised?» asks Glen Brunman, former head of Sony Music’s soundtrack unit. The time that the movie was launched made the ‘weather’ a key player in it’s success. With freezing temperatures, most Americans were confined to their homes and the album became a soundtrack to more than a movie. Disney fans have posted more than 30,000 versions of the song to YouTube with a combined total of more than 150,000,000 views.
9-Jason Derulo, ‘Wiggle ft Snoop Dogg’ (155,308,309 views)
What a great combination Derulo and Snoop Dog make! This track, lifted from the hugely successful ‘Tatoos’ album sees Jason and friends surrounded by bikini-clad girls enjoying a party at a huge mansion – it’s not difficult to understand it’s success!
10-Enrique Iglesias, ‘El Perdedor’ ft. Marco Antonio Solís (130,772,069)
The second single from Enrique’s album ‘Sex and Love’ – the song is the opening theme of Mexican telenovela ‘Lo Que La Vida Me Robó’. It’s the 5th time one of Enrique’s songs has been chosen as an opening theme of a telenova. According to reports, Enrique wrote this song eight years ago and was just waiting for the right time to approach Marco Antonio Solís, one of his biggest idols, to ask him to put his vocals on it. The music video, released in January 2014 was directed by Jessy Terrero and also features a guest appearance by televonela star Sandra Echeverría.
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El rapero estadounidense de raíces mexicanas Taboo, integrante de la conocida banda The Black Eyed Peas, presenta un movidito single en solitario titulado “Zumbao”.
El tema fue presentado justo antes del comienzo de la pasada Copa del Mundo de Fútbol de Brasil, pero es ahora cuando se ha convertido en uno de los hits que más están pegando en Latinoamérica.
El corte está compuesto por la cantante y compositora ecuatoriana, ganadora de un Grammy Latino, Paulina Aguirre. Taboo hace un homenaje a sus raíces latinas en “Zumbao” donde menciona a grandes estrellas del espectáculo sudamericanas tan populares como El Chavo del Ocho, Juan Gabriel o Marco Antonio Solís. Según sus propias palabras, es una forma de contar a través de la música como fue su infancia como niño latino en California.
Jaime Luis Gómez, o lo que es lo mismo Taboo, se hizo tremendamente popular a inicios de los noventa y durante la primera década del 2000 formando parte de Los Black Eyed Peas. Actualmente su fama no ha decaído ni un ápice y se encuentra entre los 10 raperos mejor pagados en 2014 según la revista People with Money, con ganancias que rondan los 46 millones de dólares. Con el lanzamiento de este single en solitario se coloca al nivel de otros de sus compañeros de la banda como Fergie, Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, que ya tienen varios trabajos y colaboraciones en el mercado.
Con 39 años recién cumplidos, y padre de 3 hijos, Taboo ha declarado recientemente que “Zumbao” le ha servido para volver a poner los pies en la tierra y salir de un modo de vida marcado por las drogas y el alcohol. Unos hábitos que estaban acabando con su vida personal y profesional, como cuenta en su biografía “Cayendo hacia arriba: Mi historia”.
Tras colaboraciones con gente como Sie7e, la estrella mexicana Paulina Rubio en su hit “Hoy me toca a mí” y la reciente gira “Taboo Experience”, con la que el rapero ha recorrido los mejores clubes del mundo, Taboo vuelve a ser actualidad con “Zumbao”, mientras que sigue dando forma a “Tabmagnetic”, lo que presumiblemente será su primer trabajo en larga duración.
It’s Jazz time baby! Lady Gaga reveals her incredible voice in this first single from her joint album with Tony Bennett, ‘Cheek to Cheek’. “No autotune. No tricks. Pure jazz,» Lady Gaga tweeted.
Most people are unaware of the fact that Lady Gaga has been performing jazz numbers since age 13. Tony Bennett said: “I don’t understand why she had to make contemporary music! When she sings great standards, she does it with such emotion… It will surprise people by the quality of her voice when making quality songs. We sing a duet again on the album, but also separately. With this album, I think she will become bigger than Elvis Presley! Of course we recorded the album in New York. As the saying goes: ‘If you can make it in New York, you’ll make it anywhere.”
Gaga commented on the collaboration “Cheek To Cheek came out of a very organic friendship and relationship that Tony and I have built over the years and it truly was a collaborative effort. It was important to Tony that this was a jazz record. I’ve been singing jazz since I was a child and really wanted to show the authentic side of the genre. We made an album of jazz classics, but it has a modern twist.»
“I love everything about working with Tony – he’s such a legend, and because of that I get to learn so much when we sing together. We met 3 or 4 years years ago and started recording Cheek to Cheek a couple of years ago.”
The unusual pair first collaborated in 2011 with «The Lady Is a Tramp» for Tony Bennett’s Grammy Award-winning album Duets II. They have performed together many times this year including an appearance at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Cheek to Cheek features jazz musicians that are associated with both artists, including Gray Sargent, Mike Renzi, Harold Jones and Marshall Wood. Jazz soloists include tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and flautist Paul Horn, who passed away earlier this month, according to a press release. The album features such standards as «It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),» «Lush Life,» «Sophisticated Lady,» and more.
Appearing yesterday (July 29) on the ‘Today Show’ they announced that the album will finally be released on September 23 – although the single ‘Anything Goes’ is now available on iTunes.
The long-awaited collaboration between the powerhouse trio Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj is finally here!
This dance anthem is everything fans had hoped for, and more. It’s upbeat, fun and is full of powerhouse vocals, big bouncy beats and horn blasts. It was produced by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha and Ilya, the same team that worked on Ariana Grande’s recent chart topper, ‘Problem’.
The song basically explains why they are better than the other ladies out there…(does anyone need convincing?) “She mighta let you hold her hand in school, but I’mma show you how to graduate,” Ariana belts outs. Later Minaj raps «Queen Nicki dominant / Prominent / It’s me, Jessie, and Ari / If they test me they sorry.” We love one of Jessie’s line: “She got a body like an hour glass but I can give it to you all the time!”
While Ariana and Nicki are both Queens of Pop in the US, Jessie J has not yet reached their dazzling heights. However, ‘Bang Bang’ has enough star power and radio-playability to make a real impression for her stateside.
‘Bang Bang’ was released today (July 29) through Republic Records, the label that houses all three artists, and serves as a joint single. It is the lead single from Jessie’s upcoming third solo album and will also feature on the deluxe version of Ariana’s ‘My Everything’, slated for release on August 25.
Jessie J opened up about her new album today whilst chatting to Capital FM about ‘Bang Bang’: “This is the album to make a change, I feel like that’s what this album is about for me. I’ve learnt a lot, I’ve had my ups and my downs and I feel like the third album is always the one where you feel like your feet are found,» Jessie explained. «I feel like I really know what I stand for now, and what makes me, me!»
Suenan en las emisoras de radio más importantes de toda Latinoamérica y parte de Estados Unidos. Sus videos corren como la pólvora por internet y sus reproducciones se cuentan por millones en Youtube. No os vamos a hablar de estrellas más que consagradas como Luis Miguel, Jennifer López o Enrique Iglesias, ni de los últimos lanzamientos de Pitbull, Shakira, Daddy Yankee o Don Omar. Estos chicos son savia nueva, son el futuro de la música latina y estamos seguros que más de uno se convertirá en leyenda en un futuro no muy lejano. Los hay románticos, atrevidos, picantes, amantes del perreo, con pintas de chicos duros, bien acicalados, sin huecos libres en la piel para más tatuajes, grandes maestros del reggaetón, etc. A ver qué os parecen…
PRINCE ROYCE
Es el auténtico príncipe de la bachata y probablemente sea el que tenga más papeletas para convertiste en una estrella con reconocimiento internacional. Sus raíces son dominicanas pero nació en el corazón del Bronx, en Nueva York, hace tan solo 25 años. Amante de la música desde que era un niño debuta en el mercado discográfico en 2010 con “Prince Royce” en el que destacan sus singles “Corazón sin cara” y “Stand by me”. Avalado por la crítica y su impresionante número de ventas en 2012 lanza su segundo disco, “Phase II”, con el que alcanza varios números uno Estados Unidos. “Soy el mismo” (2013) es su último trabajo bajo el sello Sony Music Latin y “Darte un beso” (283 millones de reproducciones en Youtube) su mayor éxito hasta la fecha. Su perfil oficial de Facebook tiene más de 23 millones y medio de seguidores. Un nuevo ídolo de masas ha nacido…
Prince Royce – Darte un Beso
WISIN & YANDEL
Si Prince Royce es el actual príncipe, Wisin y Yandel fueron no hace mucho, sin ninguna duda, los reyes del pop latino. Estos chicos de origen puertorriqueño no comenzaron su carrera precisamente ayer. Tienen diez discos de estudio en el mercado y el primero de ellos data del año 2000. Fueron un torbellino cuando estaban juntos y lo son ahora por separado. “El Regreso del Sobreviviente” (2014) es el último trabajo en solitario de Wisin y “De Líder a Leyenda” (2013) el de Yandel. Su último megahit juntos fue “Algo me gusta de ti” junto a Chris Brown y T-Pain.
Wisin & Yandel – Algo Me Gusta De Ti ft. Chris Brown, T-Pain
RÍO ROMA
Este dúo mexicano, formado por los hermanos José Luis y Raúl Roma, va de romanticismo en estado puro. Trabajan como nadie el género de la balada sin renunciar en ningún momento al pop latino más clásico. Tienen 4 discos en el mercado y han alcanzado gran popularidad en su país gracias a que han puesto banda sonora a las principales telenovelas aztecas. “Hoy es un buen día” es un claro ejemplo del estilo de estos músicos y uno de sus mayores éxitos. Fue estrenado el pasado mes de marzo y ya sobrepasan los 5 millones de reproducciones en Youtube.
Río Roma – Hoy Es un Buen Día
NICKY JAM
Este artista de origen dominicano está curtido cien por cien en los ambientes del reggaetón más clásico y machacón. Buen amigo y colaborador de la superestrella Daddy Yankee, Nicky tiene en el mercado 6 discos de estudio y está a punto de estrenar de forma oficial el LP “Nicky Jam Punto 7”. Las letras de sus temas no se andan con rodeos, están diseñadas para subir la temperatura en la pistas de baile. Su último lanzamiento, “Travesuras”, aún no tiene video oficial y sobrepasa los 41 millones de reproducciones en Youtube. El metraje ya está listo para su estreno pero la agenda de Nicky Jam es muy apretada. Fue grabado en Medellín (Colombia) junto a la actriz y modelo Jery Antonella. Aquí podéis comprobar cómo suena “Travesuras”…
Nicky Jam – Travesuras
J BALVIN
Este colombiano de 29 años comenzó su carrera profesional en el mundo del reggaetón en 2009, ya que antes había coqueteado con bandas de hip-hop y rock. Su último trabajo discográfico se titula “La Familia” (2013) y lo ha catapultado directamente al éxito con canciones como “6AM” con el que ha permanecido 12 semanas consecutivas dentro del Top 10 del Latin Airplay Chart de Billboard. Este tema lo firma junto al cantante puertorriqueño Farruko y, ojo al dato, colgó el video en Youtube el pasado abril y ya tiene 31 millones de visitas. Creo que es un claro síntoma de que ha gustado…
J Balvin – 6 AM ft. Farruko
KALIMBA
Kalimba Marichal es toda una personalidad en el mundo del espectáculo mexicano. Actor, cantante y compositor, desciende de una familia de artistas muy reconocida en su país. A nadie se le escapa su paso por Onda Vaselina, una de las bandas de pop latino míticas en el continente con 11 álbumes en su haber, varios Discos de Oro y Platino y ventas que alcanzaron los 5 millones de copias. Su paso como coach por la edición azteca del programa de TV “La Voz” lo ha vuelto a colocar en primera línea de popularidad. Su último sencillo se llama “Un nuevo mundo sin ti” y formará parte de su próximo disco en el mercado, “Cena para desayunar”, que se estrenará a finales de julio.
Kalimba – Un Nuevo Mundo Sin Ti
ALEX & FIDO
Su patria es Puerto Rico y nadie duda en el mundo de la música que son los auténticos reyes del “perreo” más ortodoxo. Su último disco, el sexto de estudio en su carrera, se titula “La Esencia”. Se trata de una revisión de sus raíces musicales basadas al cien por cien en el reggaetón, según sus palabras, “con un aire más urbano y auténtico”. Tras situar “Rompe la cintura”, su primer single, en los primeros lugares de las listas de este género, “Alócate”, es su nueva apuesta para seguir llenando las pistas de medio mundo con gente rozándose hasta la extenuación. Actualmente están inmersos en una gira por 32 ciudades de Estados Unidos y su popularidad no para de crecer. Sus números en las redes sociales lo avalan con casi 6 millones de seguidores en su perfil oficial de Facebook.
Alexis y Fido – Alócate
CHINO & NACHO
Jesús Alberto Miranda (Chino) y Miguel Ignacio Mendoza (Nacho) debutaron moviéndose en los círculos del reggaetón pero su carrera despegó definitivamente cuando abrazaron sonidos más cercanos a la música tropical. Este dúo venezolano consiguió un Grammy Latino en 2010 como Mejor Álbum de Música Urbana con su LP “Mi niña bonita”. Su reconocimiento en América Latina es impresionante con tan solo 3 discos de estudio en el mercado. Para 2014 se espera el lanzamiento de un disco en directo bajo el título “Chino & Nacho LIVE”. Mientras, para aligerar la espera, os dejamos con “Mi chica ideal”, su video más celebrado hasta el momento.
Chino & Nacho – Mi Chica Ideal
MALUMA
Con apenas 20 años Maluma es el nuevo fenómeno de la música colombiana. Aunque se mueve con gran maestría por la salsa y por el reggaetón, él se define a sí mismo como un “artista urbano”, huyendo de etiquetas y encorsetamientos. Lo tiene todo para alcanzar el estrellato: es joven, sexy, tiene tirón mediático y millones de seguidores en las redes sociales y, lo más importante, un contrato con Sony Music Colombia bajo el brazo. Su nombre real es Juan Luis Londoño y Maluma es la conjunción de las primeras silabas de los nombres de su madre (Marlli), su padre (Luis) y su hermana (Manuela). Debutó en 2012 con “Magia” y su último single, “La curiosidad”, salió hace tan solo unas semanas al mercado y ya es todo un éxito.
Maluma – La Curiosidad
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Son el grupo más icónico y pintoresco de la historia del rock. Sus actuaciones en vivo son auténticas orgias de luz a golpe del rock duro. Espectáculos donde se escupe sangre y las guitarras literalmente echan chispas. Kiss surge a comienzos de la década de los 70 en Nueva York y este año cumplen 40 años sobre los escenarios. Su look y fama traspasaron el ámbito de la música y los hicieron ídolos de masas y fenómeno de culto adolescente durante la década de los 70 y los 80, donde sus ventas se contaban por millones en todo el planeta.
La banda, capitaneada por los carismáticos Gene Simmons (The Demon) y Paul Stanley (The Starchild), está celebrando por todo lo alto esta efeméride con el lanzamiento de un doble CD, un pack especial de vinilos, una gira conmemorativa por Estados Unidos y el reciente anuncio de una residencia en Las Vegas. Kiss es una banda de leyenda, y no es una frase hecha, ya que hace tan solo unos meses ha sido incluida por fin en el exclusivo Salón de la Fama del Rock and Roll. Excesos, leyendas urbanas, rock, sexo, alcohol, grandes éxitos, ventas millonarias… son los ingredientes básicos de la historia de uno de los conjuntos de rock más conocidos de la historia.
El maquillaje de sus cuatro integrantes es quizás la seña de identidad más reconocible de Kiss, una formación que nacía en diciembre de 1972 en la ciudad de los rascacielos. Sus actuales componentes son Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley (los dos únicos que han permanecido a lo largo de los años), Tommy Thayer y Eric Singer. Su estética y pinturas de guerra, inspiradas en el cómic de terror, responden a “El demonio”, “El chico de las estrellas”, “El hombre del espacio” y el “El hombre gato”. Podríamos decir que no hay nadie en el mundo que no haya visto a estos cuatro músicos ataviados con su descarado y extravagante look.
Sus seguidores son legión en todo el mundo, se hacen llamar “Kiss Army” y engloban varias generaciones de amantes del rock. En los conciertos de Kiss no es difícil ver desde abuelos a niños con el clásico maquillaje blanco y negro en la cara dándolo todo. A parte de su amplio espectro demográfico de fans, es en el merchandising donde Kiss tiene otro de sus mayores pilares. Son auténticos maestros de ganar dinero a partir de cualquier producto. Su marca oficial tiene más de 3.000 productos registrados entre los que se puede encontrar desde preservativos hasta una serie limitada de ataúdes con el logo de Kiss. Para aquellos que no quieran ser enterrados también existe una línea de urnas para cremación… Estos chicos piensan en todo.
Su último lanzamiento vio la luz el pasado mes de mayo y se titula “Kiss: 40 years, 40 decades of decibels”. Un doble CD con 40 temas que incluye una canción de cada uno de sus lanzamientos comerciales, además de 3 directos de los años 2000 y una demo inédita de 1977. Toda una joya para coleccionistas que engloba perfectamente la esencia de este grupo, responsable de himnos del rock como este “I wanna rock and roll all night” (1975), la canción más popular de la banda también considerada como una de las mejores canciones de hard rock de todos los tiempos.
KISS – I Wanna Rock N Roll All Night
Otro de los lanzamientos de Kiss para celebrar sus cuatro décadas de carrera es “Kissteria- The ultiate vinyl road case”, un pack especial que contiene 34 álbumes en vinilo del grupo. En esta compilación, que solo puede adquirirse por pedido, están integrados títulos nunca antes publicados en este formato. Temas imprescindibles como “Love gun”, “Beth”, “Psycho circus” y “Forever”, uno de los singles más vendidos en la historia de la banda, perteneciente a su sétimo álbum titulado “Hot in The Shade” (1989). Esto es una balada heavy en toda regla que contó con la colaboración en la composición del mítico Michael Bolton. Aquí vemos a Kiss durante la época en la que abandonaron temporalmente sus clásicos maquillajes…
KISS – Forever
Volviendo al presente más rabioso destacamos su reciente anuncio como banda residente en Las Vegas. Será en las instalaciones de The Joint, en el interior del Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, con nueve exclusivos conciertos durante el próximo mes de noviembre. Según palabras de Paul Stanley, guitarrista y vocalistas de la banda, “será Kiss con esteroides, una doble dosis de espectáculo”. De esta forma Kiss se suma a otros clásicos del rock como Guns and Roses, Def Leppard o Mötley Crüe, que también han desarrollado exitosas residencias en la ciudad del pecado.
KISS – Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas promo clip
Kiss tiene mucho que celebrar en este 2014. El pasado mes de abril se convertía en uno de los distinguidos miembros del Salón de la Fama del Rock and Roll. Lo hacía mediante votación popular y junto a otras bandas y artistas como Nirvana, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt y Peter Gabriel. Ojo que no es nada fácil entrar en este selecto grupo donde solo pueden acceder formaciones una vez hayan transcurrido 25 años desde la publicación de su primer trabajo oficial. Grupos enormes como Deep Purple o Yes se quedaron fuera en la selección de este año celebrada en el Barclays Center de Brooklyn (Nueva York). Estamos seguros de que por la mente del jurado de esta gala, y de las millones de personas que votaron a Kiss, estaba este “I was made for loving you” (1979), otro de sus temas inmortales…
KISS – I Was Made For Loving You
Estos dinosaurios maquillados del hard rock son la única banda de este género que ha conseguido discos de oro en cada uno de sus lanzamientos comerciales en Estados Unidos. Son una auténtica marca mundial con números difíciles de igualar. Tienen 72 álbumes publicados (24 de ellos de estudio), 52 videos musicales y conciertos editados, 91 singles lanzados al mercado y, que se sepan, 45 discos homenaje/tributo a cargo de otras formaciones. Sus últimas composiciones originales de estudio están contenidas en “Monster” (2012), un disco con el que una vez más volvieron al top de ventas de los charts más importantes del planeta. Este es su primer single, “Hell or hallelujah”, interpretado en un especial del show de David Letterman en la CBS.
KISS – Hell Or Hallelujah (Live On Letterman 2012)
Mientras que Kiss anda embarcado en una gira conmemorativa por sus 40 años por Estados Unidos (tendrá su punto y final el 31 de agosto en Texas), vamos a recordar más temazos junto a sus principales leyendas urbanas y extravagancias. Primero vamos con algún que otro accidente. Este tuvo lugar en 1973, poco antes de su debut discográfico con un disco homónimo en 1974. Kiss tocaba como telonero de los míticos Blue Óyster Cult en Nueva York. Durante la actuación Gene Simmons, bajista y uno de los referentes de Miley Cyrus a la hora de sacar la lengua en concierto, decide innovar con un número de traga fuegos. Como era de esperar con algo tan improvisado, Simmons acaba con quemaduras de segundo grado y la mitad de su generosa cabellera en llamas. A esta época pertenece otro de sus grandes éxitos, “Srutter” (1974), una de las pocas canciones escritas por los dos líderes del grupo, Simmons y Stanley, y favorita entre los fans más puristas de Kiss.
KISS – Strutter (Live On Letterman 2012)
Como antes hemos dicho, el look y el maquillaje son parte de su gran éxito y están inspirados en el mundo del cómic. Pues bien, aquí viene una de las historias más bizarras del grupo. En 1977, en pleno apogeo de su fama, Marvel decide publicar un cómic con Kiss como protagonista. Pues bien, una enfermera extrajo ante notario sangre de los cuatro integrantes de la banda para mezclarla con la tinta roja que se utilizaría en la edición del cómic. El resto es leyenda… Cada ejemplar es prácticamente considerado como el oro por los coleccionistas y fans más entregados. Tan solo un año antes de esta historia, Kiss lanzaba su LP “Destroyer” (1976). Su tercer single se titulaba “Detroit rock city”, otro de los temas imprescindibles que hay que conocer de los neoyorquinos…
KISS – Detroit Rock City (Live On Letterman 2012)
No es todo maquillaje y puesta en escena lo que rodea a Kiss. Su alma mater, Gene Simmons, ha presumido durante años de que sin su maquillaje de demonio ha conseguido llevarse a la cama a casi 5.000 mujeres. Es más, ha afirmado en multitud de entrevistas que lo tiene todo bien documentado con fotos que guarda en su álbum de conquistas. ¿Queréis nombres vedad? Las más conocidas son Diana Ross y Cher…
Siguiendo con el tema de sus pintas y maquillajes, nos despedimos con “Lick it up” (1983), quizás su video más popular durante la época en la que actuaron a cara descubierta.
KISS – Lick It Up
40 years – 4 decades of decibels/ TRACKLIST [CD 1] 1.Nothin’ To Lose – 3:22 2.Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll – 2:13 3.C’mon And Love Me – 2:54 4.Rock And Roll All Nite – Live From Detroit, MI/1975 – 3:59 5.God Of Thunder – demo – 2:54 6.Beth – 2:44 7.Hard Luck Woman – 3:31 8.Reputation – demo – 5:38 9.Christine Sixteen – 3:09 10.Shout It Out Loud – Live At The L.A. Forum/1977/Edited – 3:25 11.Strutter ’78 – 3:40 12.You Matter To Me – Peter Criss – 3:13 13.Radioactive – Gene Simmons – 3:50 14.New York Groove – Ace Frehley – 2:59 15.Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We’re Apart) – Paul Stanley – 3:37 16.I Was Made For Lovin’ You – Single Mix – 3:59 17.Shandi – 3:34 18.A World Without Heroes – 2:36 19.I Love It Loud – 4:12 20.Down On Your Knees – 3:26 21.Lick It Up – 3:52 22.Heaven’s On Fire – 3:16
[CD 2] 1.Tears Are Falling – 3:52 2.Reason To Live – 3:58 3.Let’s Put The X In Sex – 3:47 4.Forever – 3:50 5.God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II – 5:19 6.Unholy – Live/1992 – 3:31 7.Do You Love Me – Live From MTV Unplugged/1995 – 3:14 8.Room Service – Live In Davenport, Iowa/1975 – 3:36 9.Jungle – Radio Edit – 4:52 10.Psycho Circus – sin intro – 4:49 11.Nothing Can Keep Me From You – 4:03 12.Detroit Rock City – Live/2003 – The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – 4:42 13.Deuce – Live From Burgettstown, PA /2004 – 3:49 14.Firehouse – Live At B.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver/1999 – 3:51 15.Modern Day Delilah – 3:35 16.Cold Gin – Live From Detroit, MI/2009 – 5:30 17.Crazy Crazy Nights – Live/2010 – 4:07 18.Hell Or Hallelujah – 4:06
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Animated music videos, including cartoon, motion graphics, 3D, lo-fi and hand-drawn animation, have become a big hit throughout the MTV Generation. The animated style has become a go-to for artists on tour who don’t have time to appear for shoots, who don’t want to appear in their own clips, who have a tighter budget, or even artists who simply choose animation for stylistic purposes.
By putting together a playlist of some of our favourite animated videos, including promos by Queen, Bjork, Gorillaz and Daft Punk, we honour the talented designers and illustrators behind some of the craftiest and most colourful music videos in our digital modern age.
The videos are featured in date-release order, following the evolution of digital animation.
Dire Straits – Money For Nothing (1985)
‘Money for Nothing’ was Dire Straits’ most successful single, peaking at Nº1 for three weeks in the US. Taken from their hugely successful 5th studio album ‘Brothers in Arms’, the song won a Grammy for the Best Rock performance. The album proved to be the band’s crowning glory selling more than 25 million copies worldwide. It was also the first album to sell a million copies in the new CD format. The music video featured early computer animation illustrating the lyrics and was one of the first uses of computer-animated human characters – it was considered ground-breaking at the time of its release. When MTV Europe launched in 1987 this was the first video they played which contained the appropriate line ‘I Want My MTV’! The video was awarded «Video of the Year» (among many other nominations) at the third annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1986.
Leave Me Alone – Michael Jackson (1987)
The music video for ‘Leave Me Alone’, directed and produced by Jim Blashfield and Paul Diener, combines stop motion animation and weird imagery, including shrines to actress Elizabeth Taylor, tabloid videos of MJ’s personal and public life, a nose being chased by a surgical scalpel in reference to Jackson’s plastic surgery, all of which compliment the song’s paranoid feel towards the paparazzi and the media. The video won Best Short Film Music Video at the Grammy Awards in 1990 and Best Special Effects at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. It also received 6 nominations for Video of The Year, Viewer’s Choice, Breakthrough Video, Best Editing and Best Art Direction. After MJ’s death, Rolling Stone referred to the track as «Jackson’s most monumental song».
Innuendo – Queen (1991)
‘Innuendo’ immediately shot to Nº1 in the UK Singles Charts in 1991. It is the lengthiest of Queen’s songs ever to be released as a single. The music video, directed by Jerry Hibbert and Rudi Dolezal, inspired by George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, has been described as one of the band’s darkest and most moving works. The use of live action with stop motion animation, eerie plasticine figurines, montage and illustrations, accommodates Queen’s prog-rock, heavy metal, flamenco and rock opera sound of the early 90s. While Freddie Mercury is drawn in the style of Leonardo da Vinci, Brian May is drawn in the style of Victorian print, Taylor in the style of Jackson Pollock, and Deacon in the style of Pablo Picasso.
Hold me thrill me kiss me kill me – U2 (1995)
Written for the ‘Batman Forever’ soundtrack, the American top 20s smash was nominated for a Golden Globe. Inspired by the world of comic books, it was only fitting that the band members of U2 would appear as cartoon superheroes and villains performing in Gotham City in the animated video clip. Directed by Dave King, the video also uses clips from the third installment of Tim Burton’s Batman film series.
Paranoid Android – Radiohead (1997)
The animated music video for ‘Paranoid Android’, created by Magnus Carlsson, is drawn in a simplistic style, using bold colours and clear, graphic lines. It features Robin, the character from the Swedish animated series ‘Robin’, and his friend Benjamin setting out into the world, running into EU representatives, bullying pub patrons, and featuring a prostitute, two men kissing, a drug addict, deranged businessmen, mermaids and an angel who plays table tennis with Robin. The video is indeed bizarre and hard to figure out!
Freak On A Leash – Korn (1999)
The animated music video for the late 90s funk-metal sounding track, ‘Freak On A Leash’, directed by Todd McFarlane, contains a mixture of animation and live performance footage. The video combines “special effects and clever camera moves in the live action portion of the video”, while it follows the journey of an accidentally-fired bullet travelling out of the animated cartoon realm and into the real world, damaging property and flying around the members of Korn, before it makes its way back into the animated world. The video received awards for Best Editing and Best Rock Video at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards and also won a Grammy Award for Best Short Music Video in 2000.
One More Time – Daft Punk (2000)
The music video animation in Daft Punk’s dance-pop classic track ‘One More Time’ later appeared in the 2003 Japanese animated film ‘Interstella 5555: The 5tory of 5ecret 5tar System’. The video, directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi under the visual supervision of Leiki Matsumoto, illustrates a pop-band made up of blue-skinned aliens performing a song on their home planet, while a bizarre force approaches it.
Californication – Red Hot Chilli Peppers (2000)
‘Californication’ is still one of the band’s most popular songs. The animated music video, directed and produced by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, has over 110 million views on YouTube. The video takes the form of a video game, which intercuts with live-action footage of the band performing. The game is filmed from a third-person point of view of each of the band members, all of whom are on different adventures within the game. Eventually, the band members end up turning back from 3D computer-generated avatars into their real selves, as the message on the screen reads ‘Game Over’.
Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz ft. De La Soul (2005)
The alternative rock song, ‘Feel Good Inc.’, by the British virtual band Gorillaz, won Best Pop Collaboration at the 2006 Grammy Awards, Best Breakthrough Video and Best Special Effects in a video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. Directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland, the music video mixes CGI with two-dimensional animation to create a textured and layered effect, with Japanese-inspired colours, textures and tones. The animated video’s main themes approach the issues of intellectual freedom and the media-induced dumbing down of mass culture.
Wanderlust – Björk (2008)
Björk has said that ‘Wanderlust’ is about “being in the state of something and almost knowing you’re never going to find it”. The strange and uncanny animated music video, directed by Ecyclopedia Pictura, presents us with a kaleidoscopic vision, by using a mixture of animation, large-scale puppets, live action acrobatics, miniature clay figurines and CGI. The video also uses pillarboxing – an effect that occurs on widescreen displays when black bars are places on the sides of the image, shrinking the original image and placing it in the centre of the widescreen frame. The video won Best Art Direction, Best Alternative/Indie Video and Video of The Year at the 2008 UK Video Music Awards. It was also nominated for Best Special Effects.
Heartless – Kanye West (2008)
Kanye West teams up with director Hype Williams, for a vibrant tribute to Ralph Bakshi’s 1981 film ‘American Pop’. It features rotoscope animation (a technique in which animators trace over footage, frame by frame, for use in live-action and animated films) and references several scenes and background from the film. The video was William’s first animated clip. ‘Heatless’ is one of the best-selling singles of all time, selling 5.5 million digital copies in 2009, alone.
Strawberry Swing – Coldplay (2009)
Coldplay’s sweet melody, with afro-pop influences and alternative rock vibes, became a top 5 hit in several European charts. The music video for ‘Strawberry Swing’, directed by Shynola, features stop motion animation, with frontman turned superhero Chris Martin lying on the ground against animated chalk drawings, as he rescues a damsel in distress. The video was nominated for Best Animation at the MTV Video Music Awards 2009 and for Breakthrough Video at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.
Get Busy Living – Goldfish (2010)
Goldfish are know for their stylistic and comedic animated music videos, most of which have connecting stories, use recurring characters and which usually feature pop culture references. The music video for ‘Get Busy Living’, directed and animated by Mike Scott, was the official video for Goldfish’s first single from their self-titled album.
The Shrine – Fleet Foxes (2011)
Sean Pecknold, brother of Fleet Foxes frontman Robin, directed the haunting animated music video for ‘The Shrine’. It’s an eight-minute long video about a carnivorous antelope “travelling across a hostile, fantastical landscape”.
Miss Atomic Bomb – The Killers (2012)
Director Warren Fu fuses the two mediums of animation and live-action shots to bring to life a heartbreaking love story in the animated music video for ‘Miss Atomic Bomb’. The video has been characterized as “the epic companion to Mr. Brightside”, as it continues the love triangle depicted in the latter video, released in 2004. Actress Izabella Miko and actor Eric Roberts re-adopt and re-enact their roles from the ‘Mr. Brightside’ video and approach the story from a different point of view.
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Pharrell Williams has dropped his new music video for his unbelievably catchy ‘Come Get It Bae’, featuring a bevy of beautiful dancing models – including Miley Cyrus.
Pharrell has worked with Miley before, producing tracks for her Nº 1 album Bangerz. He posted the video on Twitter and said «Thank you to my lil sis @MileyCyrus. All we know how to do is be silly and have fun».
That’s pretty much the feeling you get from this music video – being silly and having fun! Full of feel-good vibes with some great dancing and hugging going on, the clip sees Pharrell holding a dance audition with group of beautiful girls taking turns to dance. Pharrell hanging out with gorgeous girls again! 🙂 Midway through the clip Miley joins in the fun looking cute, relaxed and comfortable. Not a twerk in sight!
With regards to the song title ‘Come Get it Bae’ we were puzzled for a minute – what is a bae? Although it stands for ‘Before Anyone Else’ (according to the Urban Dictionary) it also means baby, sweetie, boo – that kind of thing. We do admire Pharrell’s commitment to women – and love the fact that the dancing ladies in the video are all sorts of shapes and sizes. The clip starts with the quote “Beauty has no expiration date.”
The track is the third single to be lifted from Pharrell’s Nº 1 G I R L album, written and co-produced by Pharrell himself and is set for UK release on August 31.
In other Pharrell related news:
– The feel good anthem ‘Happy’ has become the fourth single to be declared triple platinum in 20 years, meaning it has achieved 1.8m sales.
– Alicia Keys will serve as his team’s mentor on “The Voice” this autumn.
Colin Barlow, managing director of RCA record label, said: «Pharrell is one of the most innovative producers, writers and performers to emerge from the world of music in the last 20 years.»
Ecstasy, agitation, danger, love and revolution all feature in Robyn & Röyksopp’s epic new music video for Do It Again, filmed in Mexico.
Swedish pop queen Robyn and the Norwegian production duo Röyksopp – that some are calling “The electro-pop pairing of the year” – have delivered a powerful and dramatic video that goes so well with their equally powerful and dramatic single.
Director Martin de Thurah said: “I worked with the idea of ‘what is our heart’s desire?’—and I realised that no one in the world truly gets to live out their passions. We are all under some construct, whether you’re an atheist living in Denmark or a gay person in Russia.”
Although Robyn & Röyksopp are in the video, they’re just bit players in a much wider story. The sentiment that they embrace in this cinematic video could be summed up by the statement “Love is Revolutionary thing”.
Following along from their last video clip Sayit, the video is shot in black and white and follows the story of 3 groups: a group of rebels storming a castle, a pair of lovers, and a woman struggling out of a hospital bed.
For such a great dance track the video is quite surprising – most people would expect something a little more lighthearted than the music of a revolution. When “Robyn posted the video she commented: “This video stirs up a feeling of chaos which is what we talked about quite a bit when we wrote ‘Do It Again’.»
Do it Again has to be one of 2014’s best EPs – it’s a five-track, collaborative mini-album and the title track Do It Again is the latest single from the EP.
